There is a controversy in the Linux world. It doesn't have to do with Microsoft, or anything overtly technical. It may seem, to the outsider, the open source equivalent of the question, "Boxers or briefs?" But it's much more serious than that. More here.

Indeed. I'm not sure what the inflammatory opening paragraph of the article really had to do with the rest of the article. But only believers in the "One True upper($fill_in_the_blank)" could be overly concerned about Gnome vs KDE.

I tend to subscribe to the 35-35-30 rule. Competition is at its best with two strong contenders at ~35% each, with a mix of other players making up the remaining 30%. You can adjust the numbers to taste; there is nothing magical about 35-35-30.

Two contenders making up 70% of the market means it's *choice* but not *chaos*. The two players have strong incentive to compete with each other... but also to interoperate well. And you never know when a new titan is going to emerge from that churning cauldron of other players.